February 10, 2017

Dear Reader Column 02-10-17

AUTHORBUZZ: Click here to discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win.

Dear Reader,

My first thoughts when I wake up can set the course for my day. Lately, I've been on a crash course. I haven't figured out why yet, but the first thing I do in the morning, after I open my eyes, is start running a problem list through my brain. And if there aren't any problems within instantaneous reach, my mind goes hunting for possible future disasters.

"What if the flowers in the front of my house never recover, because I forgot to water them last week? What if I can't get the spaghetti stain out of the white shirt I had on the other day?" As you can see, these are ridiculous, trivial concerns, but even ridiculous can be a huge jolt to one's system early in the morning.

So until I figure out what's really bothering me, every night before I go to sleep, I review the day and pick out at least one thing that makes me feel happy or proud of myself. It's part of my Emergency Interruption Plan. For instance, the last couple of weeks I've been spending time with Denise Austin every day, down on the floor doing an intense 10 minute ab workout. So yesterday morning when I woke up, by the time I'd reached worry #4 on my morning problem list, instead of moving on to item number five, I started thinking about what a great woman I am--I did my exercise program yesterday! 'Good job Suzanne!'

My Emergency Interruption Plan has been a tried-and-true savior for me, but in order for it to work, I have to figure out how I'm going to interrupt negative thinking before it starts and I have to practice. I can't devise an interruption plan in the middle of a worry session. If I haven't planned in advance, worry wins out every time.

Worry and problems are determined little stinkers. If I don't give them the proper attention they feel they deserve (because I successfully interrupt them with good thoughts), they try again later in the day. So now I've added additional arsenal, cooking has become one of my Emergency Interruption Activities. I love to cook and when I'm in the middle of a recipe, there's no room for anything else in my mind. Hot and Sour Soup, goulash, brownie cupcakes and chocolate chip cookies were the interruption activities that saved me the other day. I'd cooked way too many things for my husband and me, so I delivered some to friends and family. And boy, were they appreciative.

Maybe a little too appreciative, because when my friend called to tell me how much she loved the Hot and Sour soup I'd given her, she also inquired, "Suzanne, are you sure there isn't anything bothering you today?"

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